LV Times columnist: The things vacationers choose to complain about

By JOHN REICHLEYLeavenworth Times columnist
Posted Sep. 2, 2014 at 4:31 PM

Lansing, Leavenworth, Leavenworth County

Vacations for most of us are over for 2014. Although pleasant memories will hopefully linger for most, it is back to the work world.

But, for some recent vacationers not all memories of vacations were pleasant. Someone sent an email with the introduction, “These are actual complaints received by Thomas Cook Vacations from dissatisfied customers.”

What followed, as you will read below, are supposedly actual written complaints from unhappy vacationers around the world.

“I think it should be explained in the brochure that the local convenience store does not sell Proper biscuits like custard creams or ginger nuts.”

“It is lazy of the local shopkeepers in Puerto Vallarta to close in the afternoons. I often needed to buy things during siesta time. This should be banned.”

“On my holiday in Goa in India, I was disgusted to find that almost every restaurant served curry. I don’t like spicy food.”

“We booked an excursion to a water park but no one told us we had to bring our own swimsuits and towels. We assumed they would be included in the price.”

“The beach was too sandy. We had to clean everything every time we returned to our room.”

“We found the sand was not like the sand in the brochure. Your brochure shows the sand as white but it was more yellow.”

“They should not allow topless sunbathing on the beach. It was very distracting for my husband who just wanted to relax.”

“No one told us there would be fish in the water. The children were scared.”

“Although the brochure said that there was a fully equipped kitchen, there was no egg slicer in the drawers.”

“We went on holiday to Spain and had a problem with the taxi drivers as they were all Spanish.”

“The roads were so uneven and bumpy we could not read the local guide book during the bus ride from the airport to the resort. Because of this, we were unaware of many things that would have made our holiday more fun.”

“It took us nine hours to fly home from Jamaica to England. It took the American tourists only three hours to fly home. This seems unfair.”

“The brochure stated ‘no hairdressers at the resort.’ We are trainee hairdressers and we think they knew and made us wait longer for service.”

“When we were in Spain there were too many Spanish people there. The receptionist spoke Spanish, and the food was Spanish. No one told us there would be so many foreigners there.”

Page 2 of 2 - “We had to line up outside to catch the boat and there was no air conditioning.”

“It is your duty as a tour operator to advise us of noisy or unruly guests in advance before we travel.”

“I was bitten by a mosquito. The brochure did not mention mosquitoes.”

And, saving the best for last: “My fiance and I requested twin beds when we booked, but instead we were placed in a room with one king bed. We now hold you responsible and want to be reimbursed for the fact that I became pregnant. This would not have happened if you had put us in the room that we booked, one with two beds.”